Professional Wedding Photos, Part II 10/10/2010
Our ceremony took place at the Plaza at National Harbor above "The Awakening" statue. We knew that the location would attract some tourists but we had no idea that so many people would stay and "join" us for the ceremony! Keep an eye out for Part III of the wedding: the reception!! Some great photos of everyone dancing and having a good time! Coming soon!        Click below to see more photos of the ceremony: 3 Comments Professional Wedding Photos, Part I 10/10/2010
Finally posting our professional wedding photos! Thanks to our awesome photographer, Bryan, who flew all the way from Houston to shoot our wedding. To more of Bryan's work, check out his website at bclphotography. These were taken on the Alexandria-National Harbor Water Taxi and at the National Harbor before the wedding. We were lucky that the rain stayed away but it was hot day!! So we took a little break at Rosa Mexicana for some refreshing pomegranate margaritas :)          Click below to see the rest of the photos of the wedding party: Jonathan & Darlene Slideshow 09/28/2010
Hello everyone! Just wanted to share the slideshow that my sister (and maid of honor) put together for us! A special thank you to Deanna!! And also thanks to our moms for pulling out the old, embarrassing photos :) Hoping to post more wedding photos later this week. J & D Say CHEESE!! 07/26/2010
Instead of the traditional wedding guest book, we opted for snapshots of our guests. And what could be better than instant snapshots?! During a trip to NYC, we found the "new" Polaroid camera...at Bloomingdales. It was perfect!!  Polaroid 300 Then with a quick trip to the Container Store for magnetic display boards, magnets and a few fine point Sharpies, we had our guest book!    And we love the end result!! Enjoy! Tea Time 07/22/2010
 In honor of my Chinese heritage, we held a tea ceremony, a time-honored exchange, which was created to show respect both of our families, the morning of our wedding day. During a tea ceremony, the bride and groom serve tea to their elders, beginning with grandparents, parents and then aunts and uncles (from oldest to youngest) and finally, older siblings.  Jon's parents, Sherry and Andy  Darlene's parents, Cathy and Thomas After the bride and groom serve the elder tea, the elder hands the couple a "lai see", or lucky red envelope, which usually contains money or jewelry.   Once all the elders have been served tea, the bride and groom are then served tea by their younger relatives (siblings, cousins, nieces/nephews) and the couple hands each younger relative a "lai see".       For enlarged view, click on photo. For more photos from our tea ceremony: Introducing Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Riethmaier 05/29/2010
 We did it!! So thankful for all of our family and friends who were able to join us and share in our big day! Hope everyone had as much fun as we did! Do not miss your bus ... seriously. 05/24/2010
Hey folks, So we've arranged to have shuttle transportation for all guests staying in Old Town. The thing is, the bus is only coming through twice, so if you miss both pickups you'll have to find another way to get to the ceremony. Let's recap your options: 1. Drive - assuming you've rented a car. Do not steal a car to drive there. 2. Taxi - your hotel will gladly call you a cab, and they're cheap. 3. Water Taxi - there's a water taxi at the end of King St. on the waterfront ... it's slow so get there early (info) 4. Shuttle - it's fast, free and friendly but you HAVE to remember the schedule Your hotel will have this information, too, but here's an overview of the shuttle schedule to the National Harbor: Pickup one: 4 p.m.- pickup at Holiday Inn 4:15 p.m. - pickup at Embassy Suites Arrive at National Harbor at 4:30 p.m. (I know this is early, but there is plenty to do and see if you come ahead of time). Pickup two: 4:45 p.m. - pickup at Embassy Suites (that's right, so if you are staying at the Holiday Inn and want to ride this shuttle you better book it to the Embassy Suites!) Arrive at the National Harbor at 5 p.m. The return trip is more flexible. Beginning at 8:30 p.m. the shuttle will be available for anyone who needs to ride back to Old Town. It will leave a) in one hour intervals, or b) when a handful of guests are ready to depart. It's a good idea to tell the drive which hotel you're staying at. That's it! Just ask the front desk if you need a reminder. They'll have the schedule. -Jon Countdown: 20 days! 05/09/2010
Hope everyone is as excited for their trip to the nation's capitol as we are to see you! Since most of our guests are coming from out of town, we've put together this wedding map. It highlights several of the restaurants, bars, local attractions, the wedding hotels, shops and much more on an interactive map of Old Town Alexandria and the National Harbor. Simply zoom in on the map to get a closer look of what is around town. This map only shows places in and around the hotels that we had booked for the wedding. For more things to do in the DC area, check Jon's previous post on "Out and About in Washington D.C.". The past two weeks have been busy as we wrap up things for the wedding. One of the items on the to-do list: find traditional Chinese outfits. We weren't sure where to go to find this in the DC area. My aunt recommended an area in NYC. So off to NYC to find these outfits and to visit Donna and Elesha! Thanks to Elesha, we made our way to Flushing and found a tiny boutique that specializes in customizing traditional Chinese dresses (qipaos) and silk shirts. Sylvia, the owner, was very helpful and told us the "best" colors--the ones that would bring us the most luck :)  Elesha modeling the 'qipao'; making sure the colors went well together  Even though he was dreading this, I think he had fun!  My friend, Meagan, from Conway, is absolutely wonderful and flew up for the weekend to shoot bridal portraits. And to top it off, Donna and Elesha came down from NYC to run around town with us! I'm so thankful for these girls and I had such a great time...once I got over being the center of attention everywhere we went. We started the photo shoot in Georgetown by the river and old colorful buildings. Then headed down to the waterfront and boardwalk. It was beautiful day so there were lots and lots of people out. And someone walking around in a wedding dress is bound to draw some attention! Everywhere we went, I heard "congratulations", a compliment here and there and several women decided they'd share wedding advice with me. We ended the day with photos at the Tidal Basin. Loved hanging out with the girls! And can't wait to see the photos! Check out Meagan's blog: www.meagansummersphotography.com  Dinner at Pizzeria Paradiso Dear Mr. President 05/08/2010
 Thats right. We invited President Obama and the First Lady to the wedding! Of course, we're not really expecting either to make it. But since we're getting married in the DC area, we figured, "why not"? We've heard that many couples who have done the same thing have received a personal response from the President and First Lady. So even though the Obamas likely will not be gracing us with their presence, we're hoping to get a note to have as a wedding keepsake. Seems silly, I know. But it never hurts to try. We'll keep you posted as to whether we receive anything! Getting married too? And want to invite President Obama? Just your invite to:  The Honorable Barack Obama and Mrs. Obama The White House Greetings Office Room 39 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Washington, DC 20500 |   ArchivesOctober 2010 CategoriesAll |
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